S.Korea stocks pull back after solid rally, won edges down

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

* Dip from profit-taking not a surprise, KOSPI to rebound
-analyst
* Won flat; U.S. jobs data, S.Korea's exports eyed
SEOUL, May 30 (Reuters) - South Korean shares declined early
on Tuesday as investors took a breather after the market's
record-breaking rally this month, which was fuelled in part by
hopes for strong corporate earnings for the April-June quarter.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was
down 0.6 percent at 2,338.10 points as of 0246 GMT. The
benchmark has risen 6 percent this month alone, and on Monday it
scored record high.
"Though it is a sudden drop, it is not that surprising
considering how much the KOSPI has risen recently," said Cho
Byung-hyun, a stock analyst at Yuanta Securities.
The index touched 2,371.67 on Monday, the highest intraday
level in history.
"Today's drop does not mean that the KOSPI's upbeat trend
has reversed. The fundamentals are strong and since market
players are expecting strong economic data later this week, the
KOSPI is likely to rebound," Cho added.
Cho was referring to exports data due later this week, with
expectations a recent uptick in shipments will continue.
Offshore investors were set to be net sellers, offloading
16.4 billion Korean won ($14.60 million) worth of KOSPI shares
near mid-session.
Market heavyweight Samsung Electronics lost 2.4
percent while web portal Naver was down nearly 1
percent.
The South Korean won edged down on low-volume trading
amid a broadly stronger dollar. Many traders were also cautious
ahead of a batch of economic data slated to be released later
this week, including U.S. jobs as well as exports data at home.
The won stood at 1,123.8 to the dollar, down 0.2
percent compared to Monday's close of 1,121.7.
June futures on three-year treasury bonds gained
0.05 point to 109.56.
0246 GMT Prev close
Dollar/won 1,123.8 1,121.7
Yen/won 10.1326/07 10.0741
*KTB futures 109.56 109.51
KOSPI 2,338.10 2,352.97
* Front-month futures on three-year treasury bonds
(Reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)